But the next time out, Reed came away with a big trophy and a Pitts Homes USRA Modified feature victory. The veteran driver from Mexico, Missouri led all 20 laps for his first win at the speedway in a couple of years.

"We have kind of been struggling to get that track figured out," said Reed, the Lucas Oil Speedway Spotlight Driver of the Week. "We can pretty much go anywhere and run top five, but we have really struggled down there. We've had a couple of cars that just haven't worked out for us. I think we won down there in 2017, but we sure couldn't get going last year down there.

"I like coming down there because it's a great facility with some great people. So it definitely was nice to win."

Reed won in just his third time out in a new VanderBuilt Chassis race car. He was rock solid all night, winning his heat race to earn a front-row starting position for the feature, then led flag to flag and finished well clear of runner-up Chase Domer.

While Reed usually makes only occasional visits to Lucas Oil Speedway, he's looking at becoming a regular this season and making a points run. He's just 13 behind Domer for the early points lead in the USRA Modified division.

"There's not a lot of tracks left in our area," Reed said of his hometown of Mexico, northeast of Columbia in central Missouri. "They've closed down Moberly and Fulton. We pretty much have to travel about anywhere we go. I sure like the facility down there at Wheatland."

Especially now that he seems to by in sync. Reed thought he had things figured out at Lucas Oil Speedway's Test and Tune on March 30, running some of the fastest lap times of the day.

That didn't prove true, though, when he struggled in the season opener by finishing 13th.

"We left there scratching our heads," he said. "I'd like to say we have something figured out now. The car was good the other night and we'll sure be back to try it again.

"We got one of these VanderBuilt cars end of last season and ran it a few times and won a little bit in it. We got this new one and this was just the third time we've run it. Opening night was the first time, then we went to Winston (I-35 Speedway) when Lucas was rained out and ran second to (Darron) Fuqua. I passed him once and he ended up beating us. So the car is working pretty good."

Reed, who owns scrapyards in Mexico, Missouri and in Illinois, has been racing Modifieds since 2004 with track championships at Moberly, Fulton and Quincy, Illinois. He raced motorcycles prior to that.

Now with two businesses to run and kids ages 11 and 12, Reed said he has a lot of help in getting the car prepared for weekend races.

"Derek Keith and his brother Buddy, and Dale Test are a lot of help to me," Reed said. "They pretty much keep the race car ready to go. Between the two scrapyards, I do a lot of traveling and that keeps me busy."

$5 Night Saturday: It will be $5 Night Presented by KY3 on Saturday as tickets for all adults, seniors and youth are $5. Kids 5-and-under are FREE as always as a full program is scheduled with action in all four divisions, highlighted by a special 25-lap, $750-to-win feature for the O'Reilly Auto Parts Street Stocks.

Gates open at 4 p.m. with hot laps at 6:30 and racing at 7:05 p.m.

Win a chance to feel the speed: Fans who have wondered what it would be like to experience the thrill of speeding around Lucas Oil Speedway could get that opportunity to buckle up and find out, in the Lucas Oil Two-Seater Late Model.

Raffle tickets will be sold during the evening with the winning ticket drawn just prior to intermission. Tickets will be sold for $2 each, six for $10 or 12 for $20. Fans must be 18 years of age or older to participate.

Lucas Oil Speedway General Manager Danny Lorton, a former dirt Late Model driver, will be behind the wheel to give the ride. He hopes to provide this opportunity several times throughout the season.

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